Railways to launch Royal Rajasthan on Wheels

New Delhi: After the huge success of Palace on Wheels, the Railways Ministry in close cooperation with the Rajasthan Tourism will be launching a second super luxury train in December.

The new tourist train will be named Royal Rajasthan on Wheels and will be operated jointly by railways and Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC).

“We expect the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels to be as successful as Palace on Wheels as we have added more onboard facilities,” Rajasthan’s Tourism Minister of State, Usha Punia said.

“The itinerary of the train will be similar to the Palace on Wheels except that it will go to Bikaner instead of Sawai Madhopur. It would in fact, be more luxurious than Palace on Wheels,” she added

The Rajasthan government will have to pay haulage charges to the ministry as per the new policy formulated by railways for tourist trains.

“Though it has not been finalized yet, it is expected to be Rs25 lakh per trip,” said a senior RTDC official. The Palace on Wheels is run on a revenue sharing basis with the railways. While railways get 56% of the revenue, Rajasthan’s share is 44%.

Catering to the growing demand of tourists, the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels will go to Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Chittaurgar, Udaipur, Bharatpur and Agra.